Description
Albishorn has built its short but distinctive history on the "imaginary vintage" watch — a plausible ancestor that never actually existed — and the new Type X-Graph is the most literal expression of that idea yet. The conceit: a transparent-dial prototype pilot's chronograph supposedly developed around 1948, years before the famous Type 20 watches were issued to the French military.
What makes the Type X-Graph more than a styling exercise is the substance underneath. Behind the smoky, see-through dial sits a COSC-certified, hand-wound monopusher chronograph — operated by a single large pusher on the left side of the case — with a 65-hour power reserve. At CHF 4,250 on a strap, it is one of the more genuinely interesting value chronographs of the month.
Design
The 39 mm stainless-steel case is satin-finished with polished chamfered bevels, stretching to 47.7 mm lug-to-lug and standing 12 mm tall including the box sapphire crystal (11.1 mm without). A bidirectional gunmetal-PVD steel bezel carries an engraved 60-minute scale picked out in lacquer and Super-LumiNova, while the winding crown sits at 10:30 alongside a large red anodised-aluminium monopusher at 9:30, designed to be operated with the thumb. Water resistance is a practical 100 m.
The headline is the dial: a translucent anthracite "fumé" polycarbonate that shifts from near-opaque at the edges to a smoky grey toward the centre, partially revealing the skeletonised dial side of the movement beneath. Luminous Arabic numerals, a patented chronograph operating indicator at 12, running seconds at 4:30 and a 30-minute counter at 7:30 keep the layout legible despite the transparency. White-painted, lumed hands finish the look.
Specifications
- Model: Albishorn Type X-Graph (Imaginary Vintage / Type 10 family)
- Case diameter: 39 mm
- Lug-to-lug: 47.7 mm
- Case thickness: 12 mm with box crystal (11.1 mm without)
- Case material: 316L stainless steel, satin with polished chamfers
- Bezel: Bidirectional gunmetal-PVD steel, engraved 60-minute scale, lacquer + Super-LumiNova
- Crystal: Box sapphire with anti-reflective coating
- Crown / pusher: Crown at 10:30; red anodised-aluminium monopusher at 9:30 (thumb-operated)
- Water resistance: 100 m
- Dial: Translucent anthracite "fumé" polycarbonate over a skeletonised movement side; lumed Arabic numerals; chronograph operating indicator at 12; running seconds at 4:30; 30-minute counter at 7:30
- Movement: Proprietary hand-wound monopusher chronograph calibre ALB04 M (reworked Sellita SW510 M, Valjoux 7750-derived), COSC-certified, skeletonised dial side
- Movement dimensions: 30 mm x 5.7 mm; 21 jewels
- Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve: 65 hours
- Strap: Black and taupe leather with steel pin buckle; optional steel bracelet with double-folding clasp and quick-release
- Limited edition: 99 pieces produced over three years
- Price: CHF 4,250 (leather) / CHF 4,700 (bracelet), excl. taxes
- Availability: Online only at albishorn-watches.ch from 29 May 2026
What's Exciting
The translucent dial is the hook, and crucially it reads as a design idea rather than a skeleton gimmick: Albishorn grounds it in genuine 1930s–40s experiments with Plexiglas and Lucite, so the "X-ray" effect feels like part of the invented history rather than a CGI flourish. Pair that with a thumb-operated left-side monopusher — an unusual, tactile control layout — and you have a watch with real character.
The value story is just as strong. A COSC-certified monopusher chronograph with a 65-hour reserve, kept slim at 5.7 mm, for CHF 4,250 is a serious proposition; the calibre is a reworked Sellita rather than a true in-house movement, but the chronometer certification and the thoughtful slim construction earn the price. For collectors who already own the obvious pilot chronographs, this is the kind of left-field piece that actually adds something.
History
Albishorn is a young Swiss micro-brand that has made its name with "imaginary vintage" chronographs — watches that look and feel like rediscovered mid-century tool watches but whose backstories are deliberately fictional, such as the earlier Thundergraph and Type 10 models. The Type X-Graph extends that universe by imagining a transparent-dial experiment that predates the Type 20, the broad family of flyback chronographs the French military procured from the late 1940s onward.
By tying the watch to that lineage, Albishorn places itself in conversation with the storied Type 20 history without copying any single reference — a smart way for a small independent to claim vintage credibility on its own terms. The watch is sold direct, online only, in a tightly capped run of 99 pieces spread across three years.